If I sell alcohol in this lifetime, do I create bad karma?

I’m fond of beer, wine and Scotch myself, and have never questioned the karma of a bartender who sold it to me. Karma is volitional action, and its consequence is called vipaka. So I think it would only be bad karma if you sold alcohol to someone you had reason to believe would be harmed by it.

But your wording “in this lifetime” suggests to me that you may be thinking of bad karma as a form of sin that will cause you to be punished in future lifetimes. I don’t believe in reincarnation, and I...